10 Rules of Photography

1. RULE OF THIRDS

It divides the image into three equal parts vertically and horizontally. Your image is divided into nine equal segments by two vertical and two horizontal lines. Position the most important elements in your screen along these lines, or at the position where they intersect. Doing so will add balance and a point of focused interest to your photo. 

2. BALANCING ELEMENTS

Placing your main subject off-center as with the rule of thirds creates a more interesting photo, but it can leave a void in the scene which can make it feel empty. Balance the ‘weight’ of your subject by including another object of lesser importance to fill the space. This creates harmony in the photograph and makes it more interesting.

3. LEADING LINES

Usually, stairs, railway tracks, power grid lines, etc. offer good leading lines while composing an image. The leading lines need not be a physical subject. It can be an arrangement of things in a defined pattern. Leading lines are one of the most popular rules of popular photography.

4. VIEWPOINT

Rather than just shooting from eye level, consider photographing from high above, down at ground level, from the side, from the back, from a long way away, from very close up, and so on. The viewpoint brings in a unique perspective that is usually unseen.

5. BACKGROUND

Look around for a plain and unobtrusive background and compose your shot to distract or detract from the subject. You can add a vignette to avoid the distractions near the border of the image. The best rule is to use a prime lens which throws the background out of focus.

6. SYMMETRY & PATTERNS

Any repeating pattern of visual importance creates a unique visual element in photography. Another great way to use them is to break this symmetry or pattern in some way, introducing tension and focal point to a scene with a distributed pattern.

7. DEPTH

Depth in photography refers to the focal expanse. In Photography, Depth can be created by including objects in the foreground, middle, and background. Another useful composition technique is overlapping, where you deliberately partially obscure one object with another.

8. FRAMING

As a rule of photography, you must frame the photograph visually inside the camera itself. The surroundings are full of objects which make ideal natural frames, such as trees, archways, and holes.The result is a more focused image that draws your eye naturally to the main point of interest. 

9. CROPPING

Cropping is done to bring in the desired ratio in the photograph.It is also useful when you need a certain ratio to get prints of photographs or recompose the image. Cropping changes the ratio leading to a new visual composition.

10. EXPERIMENTATION

The more you experiment with the rules of photography, the more creative you will become. Photography is a creative art and the only limit is your imagination.